Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 211,900 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $5,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11,403.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 115,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 114,037 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 653,977 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,842,000 after acquiring an additional 26,027 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $108,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $14.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $452.79 million, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.87 and its 200 day moving average is $11.97. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $15.90.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Profile

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company’s signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.